Swift Energy is testing higher volumes of fluid and proppant in Eagle Ford well completions. The company’s number of Eagle Ford completions actually slowed to nine in the third quarter, but production grew due to better well performance.

The company’s best well on a boe basis in the third quarter produced over 2,300 boe/d. The completion method utilized on the well included 25% more fluid and proppant. Completion testing didn’t stop there.

In a well completed in the fourth quarter, the company tested tighter frac stage intervals and perforation clusters along with fluid and proppant volumes that were double Swift’s standard completion. The well performed better than previous wells in the area (~1,600 boe/d at 2,250 PSI), so watch for Swift to begin using a completion design that looks more like what we’ve seen from EOG.

Swift is now targeting a lower interval of the Eagle Ford and is logging the horizontal section of every well to place completions in the most optimal portions of the wellbore.

Terry Swift, CEO, stated “Further, we are optimizing our completion designs with longer lateral lengths, increases in frac stages and the volume of frac sand to increase initial production rates and cumulative production of Eagle Ford shale horizontal wells. We expect continued performance and efficiency improvements as we exploit these relationships in our drilling program.”

Swift grew company-wide production by ~10% in the quarter and continues to deploy approximately 80% of its development capital in the Eagle Ford. The company is also marketing assets in Central Louisiana to fund aggressive development plans in South Texas.